Global plan to address disabled community’s needs on the horizon

THE needs of the dis-abled community will be brought into sharp focus in 2014, as countries prepare a global plan of action to address these.

Expected to be presented for consideration by the World Health Assembly in May, the seven-year plan of action is based on the conclusions and recommendations of World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Report on Disability 2011 and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The 2014-2021 Plan of Action will provide a roadmap for WHO Member States, the WHO Secretariat, and international partners to work together to improve the health, well-being, and human rights of people with long-term disabilities, as well as those who have functional disabilities related to non-communicable diseases, ageing, or injuries.

PAHO/WHO Globally, half of people with disabilities cannot afford the medical care they need. They are 50 per cent more likely than people with-out disabilities to incur catastrophic medical costs that force them into poverty.

Many people with disabilities lack access to the assistive devices and the rehabilitative services they need. An estimated 360 million people, for example, suffer moderate to profound hearing loss, but the production of hearing aids barely meets ten per cent of global needs, and three per cent of the need in developing countries. Some 200 million people need eyeglasses or other visual aids, but have no access to these. Some 70 million people need wheelchairs, but only 5-15 per cent are able to get them.

In addition to addressing obstacles and improving access to health services and programmes, the Plan of Action will also seek to strengthen and expand rehabilitation services, especially community rehabilitation and assistive technologies; support the collection of internationally comparable data on disabilities; and promote multidisciplinary research on these issues.

“Disability is a global public health problem, an issue of human rights, and a top development priority,” said Dr. Armando Vásquez, PAHO regional advisor on disability and rehabilitation.

“People with disabilities have more unmet health and rehabilitation needs than the general population. They suffer inequities and violations of their rights, and are at higher risk of falling into poverty,” he added.